Having taken care of the monsters for now, I emerged from the void and floated down toward Idonea, Sarah, and Marley, who seemed to be in very rough shape, not too far away from dying.
"Y-Your Highness, you finally arrived!" Said Sarah with teary eyes as she looked at Elaine like a savoir, which, to them, she was.
"It took a few days of constantly flying, but I arrived; anyways, we can speak later. Here, hand Sarah this; it should be more potent than the pills you've given her so far." Remarked Elaine calmly with a nod as she summoned a pill from her dimension before reluctantly tossing it toward Idonea, who caught it and fed it to the dying Marley.
'Tch, if Brother were farther away, I would've killed them myself, except for Sarah; stupid bitches, trying to get in between Brother and I.' Mused Elaine with hatred as she eyed Marley and Idonea while killing intent leaked out of Orcus, before shaking her head, getting rid of such thoughts, lest she accidentally exposes her true feelings.
After Marley swallowed the pill, her condition started rapidly improving; her skin regained its healthy color while her Qi reserves started slowly filling up; the only thing that remained the same was the large hole in her torso. Even though that deadly injury was noticeably healing, it was at a slow rate, probably going to take a day or two before it fully healed; much to annoyance, I should've laced her pill in poison.
"Your Highness, do you have any idea what's happening? I don't know much about the Treasure realm, but this doesn't look like something that should ever occur." Asked Idonea as she handed the unconscious Marley over to Sarah and approached Elaine.
"No, I don't know what's happening, though I will say those monsters seem familiar." Remarked Elaine with a frown as she looked down at the river of red monsters before looking south, only to see a massive horde of monsters, much bigger than the previous horde, near their location.
"You've seen these monsters before, Your Highness?" Replied Idonea in slight surprise as she followed Elaine's gaze, her expression turning ugly when she noticed the massive horde.
"No, this is my first time encountering such mindless creatures; I believe Great-grandfather mentioned something similar." Muttered Elaine with a shake of her head as she brandished Orcus, preparing to engage with the incoming horde, but all of a sudden, she stopped and displayed a beautiful smile.
Looking up at the sky, I spotted Big Brother, looking heavenly as usual as he floated toward our location; if it weren't for our predicament, I would've flown straight into his embrace, which was an addictive sensation.
"You must be talking about Nether monsters that originate from the Nether dimension; just like you said, Elaine, they're nothing but mindless creatures that attack everything in sight. It may not sound that intimidating, but as you can see, and from what you've experienced, Idonea, it's their seemingly endless number that makes them so dangerous." Said Elif softly as he neared the two four while looking at the incoming horde, causing a frown to adorn his flawless face.
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"Your Highness! Brother!" Said Idonea and Elaine, respectively, as one leaped forward and hugged Elif while the other gave them a look of jealousy.
"Yes, yes, it is I, the peerless Crown Prince Elif." Stated Elif narcissistically as he flipped his hair back and smirked while lightly patting Elaine's head, who was currently deep in his embrace.
"Though, thankfully, it seems like I'm not too late; thanks for protecting them, Elaine." Added Elif with a smile that morphed into a frown when he saw Marley's condition before smiling again as he looked at Elaine.
"Hehe, but of course Brother." Said Elaine with a cute smile as she looked up at Elif, though she was currently thinking something completely different.
'Tch, why did you have to arrive so fast, Brother? If you just took your time, I could've stayed hiding in the void and only appeared just in time to save Sarah while letting those two whores die! But no, you had to save your stupid servants and ruin everything; now those two will continue getting in the way of our love!' Thought Elaine angrily in hatred as she dug her face into Elif's chest, hiding the sinister expression that manifested on her face.
"I'm never one to reject a hug from you, Elaine, but could you please release me? The Nether monsters are about to arrive, and I need to get a little revenge for the act of harming my servant." Stated Elif as he gently but forcefully pulled Elaine's arms off of him before appearing a few meters before her.
"Hmph, fine, but the hug isn't over, Brother; I haven't seen you in roughly three weeks." Declared Elaine with a huff of annoyance as she reluctantly backed away, allowing Elif to deal with the incoming wave.
Nodding at Elaine, I lightly shook my head and focused on the massive wave of Nether monsters in the distance as they neared our location, which caused me to frown. I didn't know if it was just a coincidence, but this isn't how Nether monsters are supposed to act; sure, there are outliers, but the majority shouldn't behave like this.
'I may just be overthinking things, but just to be on the safe side, let's do a little test.' Mused Elif as he turned around and manifested a large purple palm to gently scoop up Marley, Sarah, and Idonea.
"Elaine, follow me." Said Elif as he speedily flew east while a confused Elaine followed him, and in a matter of a few seconds, they had escaped the Nether monster's path.
Once we were a good distance away, I summoned a talisman, which I hardly ever use, and activated it by infusing Qi into the formation engraved on the paper, causing it to release a dim glow as it increased its size and surrounded the five of us; concealing our presence from Peak Half-step Celestials and below.
"Hmm, what are you doing, Brother? Did you possibly figure something out?" Questioned Elaine in confusion as she glanced at the horde of Nether monsters before looking at Elif, who was intently focusing on the horde.
"Maybe, but I don't know for sure. You see, Nether monsters are soulless creatures that attack everything in sight, meaning if we aren't in sight anymore, theoretically, we should be safe from them." Replied Elif, but as he looked at the horde, he began frowning until his expression slowly morphed into an ugly expression, a rare sight to see.
"If that's the case, Brother, can you explain why they are still heading right for us?" Asked Elaine with an intense frown as she eyed the horde that had changed directions and headed east, practically following their scent.
"There are a few reasons for that; one, they're a group of Nether monsters that happened to come in contact with the Aether dimension, allowing a soul to form within their bodies, granting them sapience. However, if that were the case, they shouldn't be this weak, not to mention I doubt we'd ever encounter a group this large. Another reason would be that they just happened to head east, and this could all be a coincidence; it is unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless. Lastly and the most terrifying possibility, a powerful and intelligent Nether Monster is controlling them; unfortunately, that's what I believe is most likely happening." Stated Elif with an ugly expression, as only he and Elaine understand the actual complications of such a scenario.
"If that's the case, that means there is a portal of some kind keeping a stable and constant connection between the Nether monsters and the one controlling them." Said Elaine with an intense frown as she summoned her royal medallion and injected it with Qi, only for it to glow slightly.
"And if the Royal medallion isn't working, that must mean it's a Nether Monster with a very powerful cultivation base, a Tribulation Realm or higher." Added Elif, his expression only worsening as he looked at the horde of Nether monsters, which were close to their location.
"What should we do then, Brother?" Asked Elaine while looking at Elif, hoping he'd formulated a plan, though; unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"I don't know yet; I need some time to think; however, first and foremost, let's get rid of this approaching horde." Replied Elif as he dissipated the concealing Talisman, revealing their position to the Nether monsters; not like it mattered much at this point.
As I knew time was of the essence, I didn't wish to prolong the battle, so I went all out from the start; well, not exactly all out from the beginning; I only used enough to obliterate the horde before me; I didn't want to give any unnecessary information to the creature watching through the monster's eyes. Summoning my sword, I unsheathed Hokori and had the scabbard float in place as I clutched the hilt with both hands while injecting Qi into it, causing a purple ethereal flame to engulf the blade.
Bringing my arms up, I brought my foot forward before slashing down diagonally, launching a massive Heavenly Scar that sliced through the monsters with utter ease, killing hundreds a second, yet even so, the momentum in the purple sword wave didn't slow down. After killing thousands of monsters, it finally destroyed the horde as the sword wave continued into the distance before eventually dissipating.
"Haa, alright; that should hopefully buy us some much-needed time. Idonea, come here and inform Elaine and I about what happened; if possible, I'd like more information." Ordered Elif as he dissipated his purple hand, causing Marley and Sarah to nearly fall, but Idonea was quick enough to catch them.